-LRB- CNN -RRB- An Arizona prison teacher who said she was raped by an inmate is at the center of a legal controversy in which the state is accused of trying to dismiss her negligence lawsuit on the grounds of `` it 's a prison , this will happen , '' her attorney contends .

That claim , by attorney Scott Zwillinger , also was made Tuesday by an Arizona newspaper columnist , who criticized the Arizona Attorney General 's Office .

`` The AG 's reasoning is essentially this : The woman knew she was in a prison , so what did she expect ? '' wrote Laurie Roberts in The Arizona Republic . `` No , seriously . That 's the reasoning . ''

On Tuesday , Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich , a former prosecutor , disputed those characterizations .

`` Our office was disappointed to see a misleading opinion piece that was recently published regarding the brutal assault of a Department of Corrections employee that occurred in January 2014 , '' a statement released by his office said . `` The Attorney General 's Office is taking affirmative steps to make sure that justice is served for the victim of this heinous crime . We would ask all parties to respect the integrity of the legal process . ''

A federal judge on Monday heard arguments from the teacher 's attorneys and the Attorney General 's Office on the state 's request to dismiss the teacher 's lawsuit .

On Thursday , U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton rejected the defendants ' motion to dismiss the case , saying the suit `` contains sufficient allegations '' against each state defendant .

The judge noted the suit `` sufficiently alleges facts that plausibly suggest '' that Warden Ron Credio , Deputy Warden Edwin Lao and two supervisors `` acted with deliberate indifference to the dangerous situation in which Plaintiff was placed , '' the ruling said .

The controversy focuses on statements that Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Weisbard wrote in a December 19 motion to dismiss the teacher 's lawsuit against the state , the warden of the Arizona State Prison Complex -- Eyman , and other prison personnel .

The instructor who said she was raped was assigned to teach in a medium-security unit that houses sex offenders and special needs prisoners , including those who are mentally ill , disabled and in need of protective custody , court papers said .

The teacher is an Arizona Department of Corrections `` employee who routinely worked at the prison complex , '' Weisbard wrote . `` By being placed in a classroom at the complex , the officers were not placing Plaintiff in any type of situation that she would not normally face . The risk of harm , including assault , always existed at a prison like Eyman . ''

Weisbard 's motion also said the teacher 's suit `` does not even specifically allege that any of the individual defendants was responsible for assigning Plaintiff to utilize classroom 2 in the Meadows Unit , '' where the alleged rape occurred .

The teacher has been distressed by the state 's effort to dismiss her case , according to Zwillinger , her attorney .

`` It 's shocking , it 's horrific and it increases her injuries , '' Zwillinger told CNN about the language used by the Attorney General 's Office . `` For the most part her physical injuries have healed , but the emotional part of this has tore my client 's life up .

`` Absolutely , it 's blaming the victim , '' he added . `` It feels like 1952 is what it feels like . It feels like a view of the world that I thought we got past . This is not the victim 's fault .

`` Prison is a bad place . I get it , '' he said . `` This is not a training corrections officer . This is a teacher , a civilian . They had a duty to protect her , and they failed in every manner . ''

The inmate , Jacob Harvey , now 21 , is charged with rape , assault and other charges in a January 30 , 2014 , attack on the teacher at Eyman prison in Florence , and he has pleaded not guilty . A pretrial conference is set for February 23 .

Harvey was sentenced to 30 years in March 2013 as a result of a daytime home invasion in which he `` raped and savagely beat a woman in front of her young child , '' the teacher 's lawsuit said .

On that January 2014 morning , the teacher was administering a pre-GED High School Equivalency test to six or seven inmates , including Harvey , court papers said .

The instructor was n't trained in self-defense or how to control the movements of inmates , papers said .

She could n't use the usual instructional space -- a visitation room with big windows for guards to observe the class -- because the prison was holding an awards ceremony in the room that day , the lawsuit said .

Instead , the teacher was assigned a classroom that was n't monitored by security cameras and was in a remote location not monitored by prison guards , the suit said .

The prison gave the teacher a radio to use in case an inmate `` acted up , '' the suit said .

The inmates arrived to the class unescorted , the lawsuit said .

After the inmates finished the test , all but Harvey left the classroom unescorted and returned to their dorms , the suit said .

Harvey asked the teacher if he could use the bathroom , located outside the classroom , but after the teacher got up from her desk , Harvey grabbed her from behind , pushed her to the ground and stabbed her multiple times in the head and hands with a pen , the suit said .

The teacher screamed and `` began to bleed profusely , '' but Harvey `` was stronger and he choked her and slammed her head in the floor multiple times , '' the lawsuit said .

The teacher `` stopped fighting hoping to simply survive , '' and then the inmate raped her , the suit said .

The instructor is seeking unspecified damages in her lawsuit against the state .

In court papers , the Attorney General 's Office argued that the teacher `` can not allege facts sufficient to satisfy '' her claim that the Department of Corrections created `` the danger that allowed for her to be assaulted . ''

The state also argued that the teacher `` has attempted to recast absolutely routine prison events , '' court papers said .

`` The problem with Plaintiff 's repeated allegation in this regard is that it is impossible to conclude that such a dangerous situation would have been known and obvious to the defendants without also being known and obvious to the Plaintiff , a teacher who worked on a daily basis in the same environment as the defendants , '' the Attorney General 's Office said in court papers .

The instructor accused the prison and the state of negligence , false imprisonment and violation of her civil rights , court papers said .

`` After being moved from the visitation room and during the approximate 1 1/2 hours -LRB- the teacher -RRB- administered the pre-GED exam in Classroom Two , not a single corrections officer entered the classroom to perform a security check on the inmates and the welfare of -LRB- the teacher -RRB- , '' the lawsuit said .

CNN 's Sara Weisfeldt and Kyung Lah contributed to this report from Arizona .

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U.S. judge says suit `` contains sufficient allegations '' against each state defendant .

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Arizona columnist accuses the state of arguing `` she was in a prison , so what did she expect ? ''

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Attorney general : `` Our office was disappointed to see a misleading opinion piece ''